Humidifier



Jan. 20, 1931 A. M. GOQDLOE HUMIDIFIER Filed Dec. 3- 9 3 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR Afred M. 6000706- 6? W 2:: ATTQRNI EY Jan. 20, 1931.

A. M. GOODLOE HUMIDIFIER Filed Dec. 3. 192' 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Alfred/lilioodlo' 6 ,7: ATTORNEY I Patented Jan. 20, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEV' ALFRED M. GOODLOE, OF BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO AMERICAN AIR FILTER A CORPORATION DELAWARE COMPANY, INC., OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY,

, 'HUMIDIFIER' a humidifier which can be automatically 'cleaned and prevented from becoming obstructed or clogged, especially at the d1s-.

charge nozzles thereof.-

A further object of the invention is to provide a humidifier that is of simple construction, easy to mount and economical, efiicient and certain in operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following de scription, taken with the drawings, on which a preferred sented. But the disclosure is illustrated only, and I reserve the right to make changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts that are within the principle of the invention .and embraced by the broad meanings of the terms in which the app-ended claims are expressed.

' On the drawings- Figure 1 is a side view of a humidifier according to my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof;

Fig 3 is a top View; 1

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

' Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3, and I Fig. dis a detailed view showing a modificat-ion.

The same numerals identify the' same parts throughout.

In the detail description of what the drawings show, I use the numeral 1 to indicate a spray nozzle for water and 2, an air nozzle. The discharge or delivery ends of these nozzles are disposed in proximity to each other, as indicated in Fig. 5 and are located within a hood 3 having an outlet opening 4v in line with the discharge ends of the nozzles 1 and 2. The nozzle 1 is-supplied with water through a pipe or conduit 5, and the air nozzle 2 is connected to an air pipe or conduit 6. The entire construction is attached to a mounting plate 7 which can be sup invention is to, provideautomatically cleaning the form of my invention 1s preported by means of any convenient part of the structure in which the humidifier is to be employed; for example, a channel beam indicated onthe drawings at 8.

In previous humidifiers of 'perience has shown that the spray nozzles for the air and water are apt to become chokedup after a while and then they must becleaned out to enable them to be kept in operation. Such cleaning is usually expensive and troublesome; and to avoid the labor and loss of time entailed midifier of this invention with means for nozzles 1 and 2 whenever the operation of the humidifier ceases. When the humidifier is again needed for use, the. eflicient operation of same can at once be resumed. For this purpose, I provide each of the spray nozzles 1 and 2 with a cleaning rod 25, the ends of which shown at 26 and 28 project through the delivery ends of the nozzles; as best shown in Fig. 5; and these cleaning rods are connected with a piston 43 in an cylinder being best shown in Fig. 4. One side of the piston 43 will be in communication with the air supply pipe 6, and the other side of-the piston will be engaged by a helical spring 45; the spring normally operating as soon as the air supply is shut off to move the piston 43 in through suitable connections will actuate the rods '25 so that their ends 26 .and 28 will be projected through the delivery ends of the nozzles 1 and 2 to push out any dirt or foreign matter that may have lodged therein. Afterthis type, ex

thereby, I provide the hu-" air cylinder 41; the piston and such a direction that the piston, 7

wards, upon the humidifier being again put into operation, the turning-on of supply will move .the piston in the opposite direction against the force of the spring 45, so that the cleaning rods 25 will be withdrawn, opening the nozzles 1 and 2 and permitting them to discharge air and water again into the atmosphere to be treated. This mode of action will be more fully set forth later.

I The nozzles 1 and 2 may be produced in the form of a single casting so as tomake them integral with each other, as indicated in Fig. 5'; but, obviously a different construethe air 7 tion may be adopted, if desired. The body or exterior casing of the nozzle 1 will have an extension 9, one end of which is threaded to be screwed into a piece of piping 10 to connect the nozzle 1 with the supply conduit 5. The bore 11 of this extension'9 communicates with the interior of the nozzle casing, and in the casing will be mounted a tubular member 12 surrounded by an annular space or chamber 13 to which the bore 11 leads. The mem ber 12 may be designated as the nozzle proper and it will have threads 14 adjacent one end in Fig. 5, the casing 1 which is in inc-lined position has threaded engagement with the ,member 12 adjacent its upper end; and at the opposite end of thiscasing the member 12 projects and is threaded to receive a similar washer 15, collar 16 and lock nut 17.. The

member 12 has a chamber 18 which communicates with the space 13 through ports 19 and the chamber 18 opens through the two ends of the member 12 by way of ducts 20. The end of the member 12 which projects from the lower end of the casing 1 has a recess or bore '21 in which is a packing of cork or the like 22 and a gland 23-having a head 24 to enable it to be engaged and turned by a tool. The gland 23 threads into the bore 21; and thus a stufling box is provided through which projects leakproot the cleaning rod 25 for the water nozzle 1. The duct 20 at the opposite or delivery end of the nozzle 1, adjacent the outlet opening 4 of the hood 3, is reduced in size, so that it is no larger than the thin end 26 of the cleaning rod25. This thin end 26 is connected to the body of the rod 25 by a conical shoulder. 27 which fits against a conical seat inside of the member 12; and when the conical shoulder engages this seat, the thin end 26 of the cleaning rod projects beyond the delivery end ofv the nozzle and the discharge end of the nozzle 1 is therefore closed. To open the nozzle, the rod 25 must be pulled back so 'as to withdraw the end 26 from the relatively small outlet of the member 12 and then water can flowfreely into the casing 1 by way of the bore 11, space 13, ports 19, chamber 18, duct 20 and out from the upper end of the nozzle, where the air from the nozzle 2 will atomize it and expel it through the opening 4 of the hood 3.

' The inside construction of the complete nozzle 1 is illustrated fully in section on Fig. 5, while only the outside of the nozzle 2 is illustrated on the drawings. The parts on the inside of the nozzle 2, however, will be to cause their ends 26 and 28 to project together out of the delivery ends of the members 12 of the two nozzles to clean same, or to be withdrawn and thus at the same time open the discharge ends of these parts and thus permit the two nozzles to deliver air and water in atomized condition when required.

The air supply pipe 6 is connected through a T-coupling 29 with a piece of tubing 30 and a pipe coupling 31 with the inside of the casing of the nozzle 2; and when the rod 25 of the nozzle 2 is withdrawn and air under pressure is in the pipe 6, this air will be issued '85 through the discharge passage at the end of the nozzle 2 which has been evacuated by the extremity 28 of this rod 25 adjacent the outlet opening 4 of thehood 3. The piece of pipe j or tubing 30 will be mounted in a bracket 32 havin its upper end split as indicated at 33; the sp it portions having threaded openings to receive a screw 34 by which these split poring 30'and hold it in place. By loosening the screw 34, the piece of tubing can be adjusted or moved.

The top of the casing of the nozzle 2 may be provided with an integral projection 35 having a reduced extension 36 to form a j ournal for a rocker arm or lever 37. This arm can be held in place by a washer 38 and a cot- 'ter pin 39 passing through an opening in the journal 36. One end of this lever 37 has openlngs to receive the ends .40 of the two clean,- ing rods 25 which are bent as indicated by the-drawings to engage the rocker arm 37 in this way. As will plainly appear from an inspection of Fig. 1, whenever the lever is operated to pull the two rods 25 to the left, the

reduced extremities 26 and 28 of these two cleaning rods or elements 25 will be shot through the delivery ends of the members 12 or nozzles proper to clear out any obstruction therein; and when the lever is moved in the opposite direction, these rods will be withdrawn so as to open the ends of the members 12 and enable the humidifier to supply as much moisture as is needed.

The air cylinder 41 which controls the lever 37 can be cast in one piece with the mounting plate 7. It connects through its lower end With the air supply pipe 6 by way of an extension 42 of this-pipe, so that when the air supply isturned on, thepiston 43 tends to move upward against the force of the spring 45. The opposite or upper end of the cylinder 41 is closed by a head '44 provided with a bearing through which extends the piston rod 46 and the outer end of this piston rod is tions can be caused to grip the piece of tubslotted at 47 to receive the adjacent end of the lever 37 which is made fast by means of a' pin 48. This pin passes through a slotted opening in the end of the arm 37 so that the properly actuate the lever 37.

piston '46 can the water and air are turned In practice, on to flow through spring 45 will keep the piston 43'down at 'the bottom of the air cylinder 41 and hold the lever 37 in such position that the reduced ends 26 and 28 of the cleaning rods will extend out of the ends of the nozzles adjacent the opening 4, as indicated on Fig. 5. The turn-.

ing on of the air, however, causes the piston 43 to move upward and the lever 37 is then actuated to withdraw the cleaning rods 25.

Air and water can then flow freely through the nozzles 2 and 1 respectively, and the water as soon as it is delivered by the nozzle 1, is

broken up into a spray and blown out from the hood 3 by'thecompressed air from the nozzle 2. Whenever the operation of the humidifier is stopped by cutting off the air and water, then the spring causes the piston 43 to 'make the lever 37 move the rods 25 to clean the two nozzles 1 and 2. Thus the humidifier is always maintained in condition for service andthe humidifier never-has to be shut down to be cleaned out; because no dirt orv the like can ever find .a lodgement in the nozzles 1 and 2. Whenever the working of the humidifier is stopped,- the nozzles are cleaned at once and the ends of the cleaning rods occupy the discharge ends of the nozzles until the humidifier is again put in operation. Hence, on account of the discharge ducts of the nozzles 1 and 2 being always filled by the '8 are shown at 50. I may also make the bracket 32 adjustable with respect to the plate side to engage a recess in the top of they ends of the cleaning rods when these nozzles are not discharging-no dirt or foreign particles of any kind can lodge in the discharge ends of the two nozzles and the nozzles cannot possibly become clogged up.

The pipe line leading to the bottom of the cylinder 41 is provided with a pet cook 49 for draining and blowing-off purposes, and the bolts for securing the plate 7 to the support casing in the nozzle 2 and this hood may also carry a binding screw .56 tolock the hood in place over the ends of the nozzles 1 and 2.

This-type of humidifier or atomizer can to drive same, a controlling the pipes 5 and 6. The

bolts, the bracket can be raised be used in textile mills and other establishments by as are needed. In connection with each complete humidifier or unit, the full installation will include an air compressor with a motor valve of the diaphragm type subject to the pressure of the compressed off the water, and a one-way valve for regulating the flow of the water through the pipe 5, a humidostat, the necessary length of piping, and for large installations, a suitable relay to take care of the motor. When the humidity, falls to some predetermined point, the humidostat will allow the compressor to start. As soon as the air compression rises to about 30 pounds per inch, the diaphragm valve will open the water supply conduit to allow water to flow to the atomizers as before. The one-way valve in the water conduit will regulate the quantity of water that passes.

Preferably the water is. passed through the having a cooling effect on the compressor and getting warmed be atomized more quickly better advantage.

jacket of the compressor,

itself so that it can and humidify the air to equipping each room with as many air for turning-on and shutting As the waterline is opened, the pressure of air in the pipe 6 will actuate the piston 41 of i I each humidifier and cause the pulling back of the cleaner rods 25. Air and water can now be emitted, so that water in the form ofa fine spray is delivered from the hood 3. As soon as the humidity reaches a predetermined degree, the humidostat will cause the ,compressor to stop. When the compressor ceases to run, the diaphragm valve will close the water line, and the spring 45 of each cylinder 41' will force down the piston 43 and the reduced ends 26 and 28 of the cleaner rods will again be projected through the discharge ends of the nozzles 1 and 2. All necessary operations are thus'mechanically performed, and

thecleaning of each humidifier or unit is auto- .matically and regularly accomplished.

The complete installation, of course, is not' illustrated herewith for the reason that my invention resides in the construction of the humidifier itself, comprisng two nozzles, theconnections therefor and means for automatically cleaning the nozzles. From the foregoing description, it will be seen that'nozzles are' supported from the bracket 32 by means of the piece of tubing 30 and coupling 31 for the nozz'le.2 and the bearing 53 receiving the section of piping 10 whichjoinsthe nozzle 1' to the conduit 5. The cylinder 41 isrigid with the plate 7, but the bracket 32 can be adjusted to make its position right for the proper connection of' the cleaning elements 25 and the rod 46 with the rocker arm 47 and the connection between the T-coupling 29 and the cylinder 41 can then easily be made by taking pieces of piping of the'right length to provide the conduit 42. Of course, while air and water are usually delivered by the are projected forward so as to occupy the not in use;

- spring 45, to actuate the rocker arm 37 and withdraw the cleaning rods from the water 'nozzle or air nozzle 2 so as to put. these nozzles in condition for discharging. Figure 5 indicates the cleaning rods of these nozzles in the other position; that is, the rods discharge end of these nozzles when they are Of course the connections-from the rods 25 tothe arm 37 will be such as to give the required degree of movement to the rods 25 of the two nozzles to give the desired .results. When the nozzles are not in use the piston 48 will be down at the bottom of the cylinder 41. When the piston 43 is thus forced by the spring towards the end of the cylinder 41 which is shown as the lower end on the drawings the front end 28 of the cleaning rod of the air nozzle 2 may project slightly outside of the latter; and then when the piston 43 is moved by the pressure of the air the rod 25 of the air cylinder 2 may be withdrawn approximately half an' inch. The distance which the cleaning rod 25 of the water nozzle 1 must move in order to open the water nozzle will then be about with respect to this link.

t; of an inch. The points of connection of the two rods 25 with the rocker arm 37 will be selected accordingly.

I have found that when a number of huthe same source of air and water, the pressure at the nozzles of the humidifiers which are farthest from the'source of supply may drop somewhat; and consequently thehumidifying effect of the various units may be uneven. A fall in the air pressure of any particular humidifieris not important, provided the amount of water available for consumption at each of the humidifiers is sufficient. Hence to secure eflicient operation of a humidifying system comprising a number of humidifiers means for directly controlling at each humidifier the action of the water nozzle 1 thereof'must be provided.

For this purpose I utilize the structure shown in Fig. 6 wherein the cleaning rod 25 of the water nozzle 1 is'connected with the rocker arm 37 by a link 40 in such a manner that'the cleaning rod 25'is adjustable The end of the link adjacent the outerend ofthe rod 25 has a fork 57, the stem of this fork being hollow so that the link 40' can have its end bent and passed through the stem and riveted over at the extremity as shown at 58. The outer extremity of the rod 25 is threaded as shown at 59 and on this threaded extremity between the two arms of the fork 57 is the round milled nut 60. The .threaded end of the rod 25 passes through the fork 57 but the apertures in the two arms of this fork are not threaded. Hence by turning the nut 60 the rod 25 of the water nozzle 1 can be adjustedas desired. Each humidifier can thus be separately controlled and any drop in the air pressure for any particular air nozzle 2 can be compensated.

What is claimed is 1. A humidifier comprising a pair of nozzles, means for supplying water to one of said nozzles and air to the other, a cleaning element for each ofsaid nozzles, a piston for actuating said elements, a housing for the piston exterior to the nozzles, means connecting the housing and the air nozzle, said piston being subject to the air flowing to the air nozzle'to cause the cleaning elements to open both nozzles-when the operation commences and means for moving the-piston in the opposite direction to actuate the cleaning elements to close the nozzles when the operation ceases.

2. A humidifier comprising a mounting plate, a cylinder carried by the plate, a

racket adj ustably secured-to the plate, nozzles supported by the bracket, a pipe connected to said cylinder and one of said nozzles, a piston in the-cylinder, a rod attached to the piston and projecting from the cylin der, a rocker arm journalled on one of said nozzles and connected to said rod, cleaning rods forthe nozzles connected to said rocker arm, and a spring for actuating the piston,

the movement of said piston by said spring actuating the cleaning rods to prevent the nozzles from becoming obstructed, and the movement, of the piston against the spring withdrawing said cleaning rods. 3. In combination with liquid and pressure fluid receiving nozzles having their discharge orifices contiguousto each other, a cleaning rod associated with thevdischarge orifice of each nozzle and movable relative thereto, a common means subject to the influence of the pressure fluid supplied to one of said nozzles and connected with said v cleaning rods to simultaneously actuate said rods and withdraw the same from the nozzle orifices, and means acting upon said last named means when the pressure fluid supply is out off to move said cleaning rods in the opposite direction and close the nozzle orifices.

4. In combination with liquid and pressure fluid receiving nozzles having their discharge orifices contiguous to each other, a cleaning rod associated with the discharge orifice of each nozzle and movable relative thereto, a piston, means operatively connecting said piston with the cleaning rods, means for subjecting the piston to the influence of the pressure fluid supplied to one of the nozzles to move the piston in one direction and simultaneously withdraw the cleaning 7 rods from the nozzle orifices, and a spring acting upon said piston to move the same in the opposite direction when the pressure fluid supply is out off and simultaneously project the cleaning rods throughtthe nozzle orifices to close the same.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed m name hereto.

ALFRED M. OODLOE. 

